Dr. Earl completed her graduate training at Pepperdine University (MS) and Alliant University (Ph.D.) spent 20 years of her clinical practice within the California Department of Corrections and Department of State Hospitals, an unexpected turn in her early career. Developing a passion for psychological testing during her doctorate studies and early internships, she was pleasantly surprised to find new challenges within the Department of Corrections, affording her the opportunity to fine-tune her skills as a psychologist. Her first exposure with law enforcement was working with two city police departments in their Ride Along Programs. She found herself fortunate to have been exposed to different populations, working with populations of school aged children in Foster care to the prison population of individuals with various backgrounds and criminal offenses. The exposure to this population has contributed to her new passion of Trauma Informed Care programs, which, she believes encompasses everyone’s life. In addition to patients care, she found additional growth opportunities in program management which required cooperative, team building skills when interacting with other disciplines of prison personnel including the para-military organization of prison law enforcement hierarchy, and medical staff.
As an Acting Chief of Mental Health in the Department of Corrections, she was, again, afforded challenges e.g. organizing and training staff, and implementing policies to create an efficient, supportive departmental environment. Dr. Earl became a passionate advocate for trainings, both on-site, online, and externally, for her staff. She understood that supporting her staff in continued training would both keep their skills sharp for providing strong treatment plans for their patients within the department of correction, but keep them up-to-date for other opportunities that may present themselves within the community.
Community Service organizations are also part of Dr Earl’s focus, from feeding the human homeless to the canine homeless. In addition, she is researching additional ways to serve our veterans suffering from mental health issues, and who are continuing their quest in finding purpose.
